It Must Be the Weather
by JewishNinjaChick
Summary: Due to a snow storm, Ziva is stuck spending the night at Tony's house. TIVA! Rated T for minor adult language and sexual references.


**Disclaimer: The usual. All I own is my creativity.**

It was three weeks before Christmas, and the snow piled up outside of Tony's apartment. From the kitchen where he and Ziva sat, he could hear the weatherman on the TV in the living room advising everyone to stay indoors. The snow was only going to get worse. Tony got up and walked to the window. In the light of the street lamps, he could see nothing but big, slushy snowflakes.

"You shouldn't be driving in this. You should just stay here tonight, Ziva," he said, hoping he did not sound as hopeful as he was.

Ziva had come over after work to help him finish a report, and Tony had been trying to think of an excuse the entire time for why she should stay through the night. Luck had been on his side as the snow came down with more and more force by the minute.

Ziva joined him at the window. Looking out, she too decided driving would not be safe. Plus, the thought of spending the night with the man she secretly had loved for years did not sound like a bad idea, either.

"Okay," she said, "I will stay."

Tony smiled internally. He went to his room and got a t-shirt and sweat pants for Ziva to sleep in.

"Here," he said handing them to her, "Are you hungry? I would offer to take you out, but the weather...How about I make us something?"

"Sounds good," she replied, walking to the bathroom to change.

Inside the bathroom, she held her partner's clothing to her face. Butterflies filled her already excited and nervous stomach as she inhaled her partner's scent. She smiled as she put his clothes on_. Control yourself, Ziva_ she whispered to herself.

She came out a few minutes later wearing his black Under Armour sweat pants and grey Ohio State t-shirt. Tony glanced up from the stove. One look at her and his heartbeat picked up speed. Why did she look so damn _good_, even in his sweats, which were more than a few sizes too big on her.

Ziva smelled the heavy scent of tomatoes as she took a seat at his kitchen table.  
"You are making spaghetti, yes?" she asked.

Tony nodded, setting the pan down on the table. He got two plates and silverware from the cabinet before joining her at the table.

It was getting late, and despite the weather outside, they both felt warmth from being in each other's company. They stayed up talking until nearly one a.m. before either of them looked at a clock.

"We should go to bed," said Tony, "Gibbs will want us to get an early start tomorrow." Ziva nodded in agreement.

Tony continued, "You can take my bed. I will take the couch."

After saying good night, Ziva walked in to Tony's room and shut the door. Looking around the room, she saw three photos framed on top of his dresser. One was of Tony and some sports star that Ziva did not know the name of. The second was a photo of the team that Ziva remembered from several years ago, and the third photo..._no, it couldn't be_. She walked over to the dresser and picked up the framed image. It_ was_. It was the photo of her that Tony had taken when they were in Paris a few years ago. He had made it black and white, just as she had suggested. But he..._framed_ it? And it was on his _dresser_? Was it possible he had feelings for her too? Ziva felt her heart skip more than just one beat as she gently placed the photo back on the dresser.

As she tucked herself in to Tony's bed, her mind raced with possibilities. He did not have individual photos of any other member of the team. How would she ask him about it without sounding too hopeful? How long had that been there? Why was it there? She could not wait until morning.

*****  
At 05:00, Tony's cell phone rang. Seeing "Gibbs" on the caller ID, he sat up to immediately answer it.

"Go back to sleep, Tony," his boss said gruffly, "Vance ordered no one come in today unless there is an emergency. The roads are too bad."

"Great, boss. Thanks," he said, lifting one of the blinds on the window and seeing white everywhere he looked.

"Call Ziva and McGee. I already called Abby," Gibbs added before hanging up.

Tony got up and called McGee. After that, he started making breakfast for himself and Ziva. He was not going to wake her, but he figured she would be up shortly.

_This is great_, he thought to himself. _A whole day, just me and Ziva_. He hoped that she would not want to leave, even though he knew she had done much crazier things than drive in several feet of ice and snow.

Just as he was putting the finishing touches on the omelets and bacon he was making, he heard his bedroom door open. A few moments later, Ziva appeared in the kitchen.

"Tony!" she said frantically, "Why did you not wake me up? We will be late for work!"

"No worries, Zi," he replied, "Gibbs called a little while ago. Snow day for us! Vance's orders...probably just wanted to spend the day with his kids."

Ziva immediately had the same thought Tony had. _A whole day together, excuse already built in._

The two of them sat down at the table for their second meal together.

"Hope you like omelets and bacon," he said, putting the steaming plate down in front of her.

"So, I seem to be stuck here for the day," Ziva said, hoping Tony did not catch the excitement in her voice.

"Yeah," Tony answered, smiling. "I have three new movies to watch, if you'd like. Otherwise, we can um...play in the snow, if that's not too childish for you...or-"

Ziva cut him off, "We get very, very little snow in Israel. Never enough to really do anything with. I would like to play in it, if you do not mind. It is something I always dreamed of doing as a child."

"Well then I guess I am going to fulfill your dreams," he said with one of his sly smiles that made Ziva's insides turn to mush.

They showered and cleaned up for the day, Ziva again putting on more of Tony's oversized clothes...not that she minded. She pulled on his coat and gloves, her own boots, and the two of them headed outside. Ziva ran and jumped in to a huge pile of snow. Tony ran after her, and landed at her side, snow covering them both. He looked over at Ziva. The snow in her hair made it shimmer under the now sunny sky. The way her nose turned pink in the cold and how she looked in his clothing made Tony's blood run hot but sent a shiver down his spine.

Ziva sat up on her knees, bent down, and packed the snow in to a ball in her gloved hands. She threw it at Tony.

"Hey!" he yelled, making a snowball of his own and throwing it back at her.

That was it. The war had begun.

Tony had not had an official snowball fight since his junior high days. Sure, he had thrown a snowball at an unsuspecting friend or two over the years, but nothing like this. This was a full-out snowball war. It made him feel like a child again; a feeling he felt quite often when he was with Ziva. He felt young, full of energy, and needless to say, immature. Her presence gave him a spark that he just couldn't find anywhere else.

Hiding behind a fence to avoid ambush, he kneeled in the snow and made the biggest snowball yet. Then he stood up and carefully peeked around the fence to see where his rival stood. Once he had spotted her, he leaped up and launched the icy sphere in her direction. It hit her in the chest, knocking her back. Unable to balance in the uneven snow, Ziva fell on her bottom in to the cold white fluff. She threw her head back and laughed. Her smile was so big and warm it could have melted the biggest iceberg. Tony knew for sure it was melting his insides. He loved knowing it was him that caused that smile. He ran over to her and flopped down next to her.

"I love it when you smile like that," Tony said before he knew exactly what he was saying.

Ziva rolled on to her side to look at him, the snow crunching beneath her making the only sound. She did not say anything. No questions needed to be asked. The look on his face said everything she needed to hear, confirming her suspicions from the night before.

Leaning closer to him, she whispered. "You are the only one that can make me smile like that, Tony."

He looked up at her. Her face was sincere; she was done playing. This was real. This was his chance to finally tell Ziva everything he had always wanted to say.

He opened his mouth to say something. He had so much to say, but no words came out. Instead, he gently pushed her on to her back, the snow dampening her hair. He straddled her with his legs, leaned down, and kissed her. The kiss was gentile at first, but they both quickly lost all sense of everything around them. Adrenaline hit them like a tidal wave, the tension quickening their pulses. Ziva put her cold hands on his warm face, pulling him even closer to her. He began to unzip her jacket, but she grabbed his hands.

"Take me inside, Tony," she whispered before pressing her lips back to his.

She slung her legs around his waist, and he somehow managed to stand up and carry her in to the apartment. Placing her down on the couch, he kissed her as he took off her gloves and coat, throwing them on the armchair behind him. He sat back, now removing his own coat, gloves, and scarf. He took a second to look at her before taking her in to his lap on the couch and heavily breathing the words "I love you" in to her neck.

Standing up, he pulled her in to the kitchen and removed two coffee mugs from the shelf.

"My beautiful ice princess," he said, taking her chilly hands in his and kissing the tip of her pink nose. Would you like some hot chocolate? I have the tiny marshmallows, the ones you like."

Ziva smiled, pleased that he had remembered a detail as tiny as what marshmallows she liked.

"Yes, I would very much like that."

He made some hot chocolate and put a movie in to the DVD player. He sat down on the couch again, and Ziva snuggled in to his arms. He loved the feeling of her warm body against his chest.

For the rest of the afternoon they watched movies and shared warm, chocolaty kisses. As darkness and bedtime approached, they both knew that this was only about to get better, and the couch would be vacant tonight.

**Review?**


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